1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wind speed and wind direction indicators, and more particularly to multiple fabric devices for indicating wind speed and direction.
2. Prior Art
Sailors, sportsmen and outdoorsmen over the years have developed ways to see how fast or in what direction the wind is blowing. Sailors nowadays may utilize complicated, expensive electronic devices unreadable from a distance, or watch the waves, or telltales on their sails. They may also refer to storm warning flags on the docks. Golfers use a pennant on a pole to try to estimate the wind speed and direction.
A device to indicate wind speed may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 1,579,034 to Roberts which shows an arrangement for golf green wind speed indication. This is basically a windsock with a swivel coil.
An unusual wind sock is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,672 to Lindsay which includes curved vanes to help indicate the wind force in addition to the wind direction indicated by the sock.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,463 to Cole discloses a complicated air sock device with a spring for effecting pivotal movement in response to wind speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,862 to Kelly discloses a golf pin sock with tailing strings to indicate wind direction. These strings are intended to indivate a small level of wind activity, but do not indicate wind strength.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,488 to David discloses a windsock with spaced chevrons on its upper surface arranged to indicate wind speed, based on the number of chevrons observable from above.
None of the prior art addresses the need for determining speed as well as direction in a portable device, carryable or attachable to a dock, boat, roof, or holdable aloft by hand, and which is discernable from distances of several hundreds of feet.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive to manufacture, accurate, easy to interpret means for determining wind speed from a distance.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a wind speed indicating device which can function as a club burgee, flag or advertising banner.